Methods and systems for walkie-talkie communications

ABSTRACT

Walkie-talkies are a common means of coordinating activities at events but must be handed out, transferred as shifts and personnel in roles change, and collected. Further, walkie-talkies have a set range and the bigger the range the more expensive the walkie-talkie. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide individuals, enterprises, organizers, etc. with the ability to establish communications to individuals or group of individuals rapidly, with low complexity and management overhead, exploiting walkie-talkie style communications upon mobile devices connected to wireless networks over varying geographical areas without requiring distribution of walkie-talkies etc. as the mobile device is the user&#39;s own smartphone or cellphone. Further, it would be beneficial for such communications to be managed through a software application such that the user&#39;s virtual walkie-talkie automatically assigns channels etc. based upon the user&#39;s role, the event, their location etc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 62/058,741 filed Oct. 2, 2014 entitled “Role-BasedSmartphone Walkie-Talkie”, the entire contents of which are includedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of voice and data communications,and in particular to creating and managing walkie-talkie functionalityon portable devices and communications based upon a person's role withinan event.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a wide range of instances where a group of individuals arecoordinated for an event. Examples of such events can include, but arenot limited to, birthday parties, weddings, christenings, funerals,school trips, concerts, business meetings, conferences, charity events,and reunions. Today, in order to set up such events a range of optionsexist with respect to communication tools including, for example, SimpleMessaging Service (SMS), telephone, social media such as Facebook™,messaging services such as Twitter™, email, and web based services suchas Google Events.

In the majority of instances these events are based at a particularlocation (e.g. an office, church, restaurant, concert hall, etc.)although in other instances these may be a range of locations (e.g. acharity run requiring volunteers at the start, finish and runnerregistration) and whilst typically over a generally small geographicarea the multiple locations may be over an extended geographic area(e.g. Rio de Janeiro for the Summer Olympics). Accordingly, the numberof helpers, volunteers, attendees, support staff, event staff may rangefrom a few to hundreds to thousands. Within the prior art organizers ofsuch events would exploit walkie-talkies which would be provided tospecific volunteers to handle communications between them. Differentchannels upon a walkie-talkie can be selected so that multipleconversations can occur concurrently. However, these walkie-talkies mustbe handed out to those individuals/staff/volunteers deemed to need them,be passed on as shifts and personnel in roles change, and collected atthe end of the day. Further, walkie-talkies have a set range and thebigger the range the more expensive the walkie-talkie.

Over the past few years with the increasing penetration andfunctionality of cellular telephones and so-called smartphones therehave been several “push-to-talk” applications including, but not limitedto, Voxer, iPTT, HeyTell, and Zello which provide users with basicwalkie-talkie functionality such as one-to-one and one-to-groupmessaging. However, the other users must be contacts of the user andwhen a group is formed the members of a group must be known.

Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide individuals, enterprises,organizers, etc. with the ability to establish communications toindividuals or group of individuals rapidly, with low complexity andmanagement overhead, exploiting walkie-talkie style communications uponmobile devices connected to wireless networks over varying geographicalareas without requiring distribution of walkie-talkies etc. as themobile device is the user's own smartphone or cellphone. Further, itwould be beneficial for such communications to be managed through asoftware application such that the user's virtual walkie-talkieautomatically assigns channels etc. based upon the user's role, theevent, their location etc.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to address limitations withinthe prior art relating to the field of data communications and moreparticularly to a system for finding the location and/or status of otherindividuals.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided amethod of mobile communications comprising:

-   receiving content within a software application in execution upon an    electronic device;-   associating the received content with a communication based upon a    filter defined by a policy chain established within the software    application; and-   presenting the information upon the electronic device.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there are providedcomputer readable instructions for execution by a microprocessor storedin a non-volatile, non-transitory memory, the instructions when executedrelating to a process comprising:

-   receiving content within a software application in execution upon an    electronic device;-   associating the received content with a communication based upon a    filter defined by a policy chain established within the software    application; and-   presenting the information upon the electronic device.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1A depicts a network diagram of the system according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B depicts schematically a hierarchy of the tables within adatabase according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts schematically a walkie-talkie service within an eventapplication on the user's portable device according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3A depicts a more detailed schematic of the walkie-talkie servicewithin an event application on a user's portable device according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3B depicts schematically the walkie-talkie service within the eventmanager server according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 depicts the relationships between database tables according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5A depicts an exemplary user device screen for setting up filtersaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 5B to 5E depict exemplary screenshots from a walkie-talkieapplication according to an embodiment of the invention for differentactions performed by a user of the application;

FIG. 6 depicts a network environment within which embodiments of theinvention may be employed; and

FIG. 7 depicts a wireless portable electronic device supportingcommunications to a network such as depicted in FIG. 6 and as supportingembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to the field of field of datacommunications and more particularly to a system for finding thelocation and/or status of other individuals.

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiment(s) only, and isnot intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplaryembodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It beingunderstood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements and that the invention the invention is intendedto cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalent arrangementswithout departing from the scope which is as set forth and definedwithin the appended claims.

A “portable electronic device” (PED) as used herein and throughout thisdisclosure, refers to a wireless device used for communications andother applications that requires a battery or other independent form ofenergy for power. This includes devices, but is not limited to, such asa cellular telephone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA),portable computer, pager, portable multimedia player, portable gamingconsole, laptop computer, tablet computer, and an electronic reader.

A “fixed electronic device” (FED) as used herein and throughout thisdisclosure, refers to a wireless and/or wired device used forcommunications and other applications that requires connection to afixed interface to obtain power. This includes, but is not limited to, alaptop computer, a personal computer, a computer server, a kiosk, agaming console, a digital set-top box, an analog set-top box, anInternet enabled appliance, an Internet enabled television, and amultimedia player.

An “application” (commonly referred to as an “app”) as used herein mayrefer to, but is not limited to, a “software application”, an element ofa “software suite”, a computer program designed to allow an individualto perform an activity, a computer program designed to allow anelectronic device to perform an activity, and a computer programdesigned to communicate with local and/or remote electronic devices. Anapplication thus differs from an operating system (which runs acomputer), a utility (which performs maintenance or general-purposechores), and a programming tools (with which computer programs arecreated). Generally, within the following description with respect toembodiments of the invention an application is generally presented inrespect of software permanently and/or temporarily installed upon a PEDand/or FED.

A “social network” or “social networking service” as used herein mayrefer to, but is not limited to, a platform to build social networks orsocial relations among people who may, for example, share interests,activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. This includes, but isnot limited to, social networks such as U.S. based services such asFacebook, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter; as well as Nexopia, Badoo, Bebo,VKontakte, Delphi, Hi5, Hyves, iWiW, Nasza-Klasa, Soup, Glocals,Skyrock, The Sphere, StudiVZ, Tagged, Tuenti, XING, Orkut, Mxit,Cyworld, Mixi, renren, weibo and Wretch.

“Social media” or “social media services” as used herein may refer to,but is not limited to, a means of interaction among people in which theycreate, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtualcommunities and networks. This includes, but is not limited to, socialmedia services relating to magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, socialblogs, microblogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs orpictures, video, rating and social bookmarking as well as thoseexploiting blogging, picture-sharing, video logs, wall-posting,music-sharing, crowdsourcing and voice over IP, to name a few. Socialmedia services may be classified, for example, as collaborative projects(for example, Wikipedia); blogs and microblogs (for example, Twitter™);content communities (for example, YouTube and DailyMotion); socialnetworking sites (for example, Facebook™); virtual game-worlds (e.g.,World of Warcraft™); and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life™).

An “enterprise” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, aprovider of a service and/or a product to a user, customer, or consumer.This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, amarket, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, acharity, a utility, and a service provider. Such enterprises may bedirectly owned and controlled by a company or may be owned and operatedby a franchisee under the direction and management of a franchiser.

A “service provider” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to,a third party provider of a service and/or a product to an enterpriseand/or individual and/or group of individuals and/or a device comprisinga microprocessor. This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet,a store, a market, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an onlineretailer, a utility, an own brand provider, and a service providerwherein the service and/or product is at least one of marketed, sold,offered, and distributed by the enterprise solely or in addition to theservice provider.

A ‘third party’ or “third party provider” as used herein may refer to,but is not limited to, a so-called “arm's length” provider of a serviceand/or a product to an enterprise and/or individual and/or group ofindividuals and/or a device comprising a microprocessor wherein theconsumer and/or customer engages the third party but the actual serviceand/or product that they are interested in and/or purchase and/orreceive is provided through an enterprise and/or service provider.

A “user” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, anindividual or group of individuals which includes, but is not limitedto, private individuals, employees of organizations and/or enterprises,members of community organizations, members of charity organizations,men, women, children, and teenagers. In its broadest sense the user mayfurther include, but not be limited to, software systems, mechanicalsystems, vehicle systems, physical assets, robotic systems, androidsystems, etc. that may be characterised by mobility and location suchtheir location may be an aspect of them which is desired to be known ata particular instant.

An “event” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a plannedpublic or social occasion, happening, proceeding, incident, affair,function, gathering, “bash”, competition, contest, tournament, round,fixture, race, conference, meeting, and appointment.

“Electronic content” (also referred to as “content” or “digitalcontent”) as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, any typeof content that exists in the form of digital data as stored,transmitted, received and/or converted wherein one or more of thesesteps may be analog although generally these steps will be digital.Forms of digital content include, but are not limited to, informationthat is digitally broadcast, streamed or contained in discrete files.Viewed narrowly, types of digital content include popular media typessuch as MP3, JPG, AVI, TIFF, AAC, TXT, RTF, HTML, XHTML, PDF, XLS, SVG,WMA, MP4, FLV, and PPT, for example, as well as others, see for examplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_file_formats. Within a broaderapproach digital content mat include any type of digital information,e.g. digitally updated weather forecast, a GPS map, an eBook, aphotograph, a video, a Vine™, a blog posting, a Facebook™ posting, aTwitter™ tweet, online TV, etc. The digital content may be any digitaldata that is at least one of generated, selected, created, modified, andtransmitted in response to a user request, said request may be a query,a search, a trigger, an alarm, and a message for example.

A “walkie-talkie” (more formally known as a handheld transceiver, or“push-to-talk” radio) within the prior art is a hand-held, portable,two-way radio transceiver exploiting a half-duplex channel such thatonly one radio transmits at a time though any number can listen and a“push-to-talk” switch that starts transmission. Similarly prior artwalkie-talkies employ a built-in speaker which can be heard by the userand those in the user's immediate vicinity. “Walkie-talkie”applications/platforms (WKTKAPs) as embodied within embodiments of theinvention provides functionality which is comparable to that of awalkie-talkie in respect of pushing primarily voice communications froma user's portable device to other portable devices but does so byexploiting a software application in execution upon a user's PED/FED.

The system(s) and/or application(s) described below in respect ofembodiments of the invention may be employed in a standalone manner orthey may, alternatively, be a feature of or be used as part of a largersystem for creating, managing, running and/or coordinating an event.Within the embodiments of the invention described below these aredescribed with respect to “walkie-talkie” applications/platforms(WKTKAPs) that support communications between users associated with anevent or activity by their roles and assignments to said roles withoutany prior knowledge of the others users by the user as this iscoordinated through supervisory/management roles employing the WKTAPsaccording to embodiments of the invention.

Within the following description and reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 theinvention is presented with respect to an inventive system allowingevent planners to set up a staff schedule starting with the event, thevenue associated with the event, define a location within the venue,define shifts within the venue or location, define roles within eachshift, and the define the people assigned to each shift/role. Thefunctionality of the “walkie-talkie” applications/platforms (WKTKAPs)accessed by the user(s) are defined in terms of this hierarchy.Accordingly, users (e.g. volunteers) need only download the softwareapplication to their smartphone, for example, and then subsequently thesoftware application's functionality and, in some instances, even accessto the software application and/or its features is defined byassociation of the user to a role, to a shift, to a location, to avenue, and to an event. For example, a volunteer to the Rio de Janerio2016 Olympics may be associated therefore to this as the event, thelocation for them is the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, site of rowing andcanoeing competitions, their shift may be 8 am-1 pm Sunday Aug. 9, 2016,and their role is security. In some instances their role may define thelocation to even greater precision and/or define a geofenced locationassociated with their shift. For example, this user is assigned tosecurity may be given a geofenced region of the Parque Natural MunicipalJose Guilherme Merquior on the eastern shore of the lagoon. In contrasta ticket role may defined as being Gate 1 at Parque dos Patins-Lagoa onAv. Borges de Medeiros.

Within the following description and reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 theinvention is presented with respect to an inventive system wherein theembodiments of the invention exploit a structure described and depictedwithin the World Patent Application PCT/CA2013/000717 entitled “ACommunication System Facilitating a Contextual Environment for a UserFiling Various Role Agents” published Apr. 10, 2014 and filed Aug. 15,2013 and claiming priority to US Patent Publication 2014/0,101,556 ofthe same name filed Oct. 4, 2012. However, it would be evident thatother hierarchies and associations of users to activities, tasks, etc.may be employed without departing from the scope of the invention. Theembodiments of the invention are described with respect to a system forreplacing the walkie-talkies normally employed in communications betweenvolunteers, etc. with a portable device application, and associating thechannels on the virtual walkie-talkie (VIWKTK) with the roles in theevent. The roles for the event are created by the event planner(s).

Within this specification in respect of embodiments of the inventionthere are described methods and systems for routing communications basedon a connection (policy chain) to get to the right organization, thenmission, then role within a mission, etc. The embodiments exploit thesame structure to determine a specific group of people at a specifictime, and with mobile device functionality that mimics a walkie-talkie,allow them to communicate based on the role that they are currently in,or the venue or location that they are currently at.

The users associated with a role or venue can change based on the shiftcharacteristics, e.g. time, or, if the user does not show up, they canbe replaced by another person in real time wherein the new user isautomatically provided with the appropriate access to channels etc.based upon the policy chain. Further, staff can sign in and out ofshifts for breaks. Embodiments of the invention provide for a method ofgrouping people specific to a role/venue/location at a specific instancein time which addresses the requirements of such systems as prior artstatic programming of pre-determined groups of people does not workwithin dynamic environments wherein personnel changes may arise througha plurality of unforeseen circumstances or new groups need to beestablished and activated in real time to respond to unplanned events ortrigger responses to emergencies etc.

Referring to FIG. 1A there is depicted an event management server 100connected to a network 107, such as a local area network, wide areanetwork, or global network such as the Internet, commonly referred to asthe “cloud.” For each organization 114, e.g. Organizations 1 to N, theremay be multiple events, e.g. Event 1 to Event N, each executing aseparate instance of the WKTKAP, namely Event 1 101 and Event N 102.Also depicted is a database 103, also connected to the network 107 whichstores all the data specific to each organization's events, e.g. Event 1Data 110 and Event N Data 111. The database 103 also contains user data,e.g. User 1 112 and User M 113, which is data specific to each userusing the system. This data includes, typically, for each user a mobilephone number associated with the user's smartphone or wirelesslyconnected PED to a telecommunications infrastructure. A plurality of webpages 117 are used to program all the elements of the system and storethem in the database 103. The web pages 117 can also be used to displayreal time information to any specific user of the system with theappropriate privileges, as known in the art. Each user of the system hasa specific role at a specific time and has a device 105 (e.g.smartphone, tablet computer or PED with web access). Each device 105 hasan event application (EVAP) 109 running as an embodiment of a WKTKAPaccording to an embodiment of the invention. Data can be sent from theevent management server 100 to the device 105 via the network 107 and tothe EVAP 109. The EVAP 109 may also store its own data with a PED datastore 116.

Referring to FIG. 1B there is depicted an example of hierarchy of theevent data, e.g. Event 1 101 and Event N 102, for an organizationaccording to an embodiment of the invention, e.g. Organization 1 114, inthe database 103. As depicted the hierarchy comprises:

-   -   Days 150, which may contain venues 15 associated with a day or        days;    -   Venues 151, which can contain locations 152 associated with the        location(s);    -   Shifts 153, which can exist for either venues 151 or locations        152 and may contain, for example, start times and end times.    -   Roles 154, which are generally contained within shifts 153 and        are filled by a group 155;    -   Groups 155 which define the users associated to them and may        range from a single participant 156 to all participants        associated to the event.

Each participant 156 may also have one or more statuses associated, suchas reported, in shift, out of shift (break), checked in, checked out,etc. The event participant 156 also points to a user 112, 113 in thedatabase 103.

Now referring to FIG. 2 there is depicted a more detailed diagram of theEVAP 109 installed upon the user's device 105. Inside the EVAP 109 is awalkie-talkie (WKTK) service 200 which uses the speaker/microphone(SPEMIC) driver(s) 202 of the user device 105 to interface with thespeaker 203 and microphone 204. The screen display handler 201 uses thelocal data store 116 to retrieve the role and push data to display onthe screen 205. The screen press handler 206 interfaces with the screen205 and is used to inform the WKTK service 200 of button presses on thescreen 205 for the EVAP 109. The WKTK service 200 interfaces with theevent management server 100 through the network 107 to send and receivesound bites (messages from other users) and the appropriate filters.

Referring to FIG. 3A the WKTK service 200 is depicted in more detailwherein the WKTK control 300 is responsible for the control of the WKTKfunctionality on the user's user device 105. When the user selects touse the WKTK via a button press through the screen press handler 206,the WKTK control 300 gets the screen manager 301 to get the filter datafrom the data store 116 and pass it to the screen display handler 201(see FIG. 5) to display on the screen. Once the user has selected thefilter they want, then they are asked to press a button and talk intothe microphone, just as with a conventional prior art walkie-talkie. Thescreen press handler 206 informs the WKTK control 300 when the talkbutton is pressed and the WKTK control 300 uses the SPEMIC driver 202 toturn on the microphone and record. The screen press handler 206 informsthe WKTK control 300 when the talk button is released or pressed againdepending on functionality of the WKTKAP. In this event the WKTK control300 uses the SPEMIC driver 202 to turn off the microphone and store thesound bite. The sound bite is then stored in the data store 116.

At this point the WKTK control 300 then creates a session ID (or uses anexisting one if it is part of an existing conversation) and sends it andthe filter data and the sound bite to the event management service (EMS)WKTK service 305 on the event management server 100 via the network 107.The EMS WKTK service 305 determines the group of people to send thesound bite to (see FIG. 3B) and sends it to the various WKTK controls300 along with the session ID and the sender of the message. The WKTKcontrol 300 receives the sound bite and session ID and stores it in thedata store 116. It then uses the screen manager 301 to inform the userof a new message and uses the SPEMIC driver 202 to play the sound biteon the speaker. If the user wants to respond to the message, then thesession ID is kept and sent back so that the people in the originalconversation are kept together.

FIG. 3B depicts in more detail the functionality of the EMS WKTK service305 within the event management server 100. The WKTK receiver 321receives the session ID, the filter data and sound bite from the userdevice 105 EVAP 109 via the network 107. It then informs the WKTKcontrol 322 that is has received new data. Based on the data in thefilter the EMS WKTK control 322 uses the database 103 to retrieve thecorrect group of people to send the sound bite to. These people,including the sender, are then stored against the session ID. (FIG. 4shows the relationships in the database to do this). For each user, itthen uses the WT sender 320 to send the sound bite to each of theappropriate EVAPs 109 (excluding the sender). Any subsequent sound bitesfor this conversation are stored with the session ID until the sessionis terminated by the original sender. The sender can also choose to maketo a broadcast (one-way only) message. Some users can be set to onlyhave the ability to receive a WKTK message, but not send one.

Now referring to FIG. 4 there are depicted a set of exemplary databasetable relationships that allow for the correct determination of thegroup of users to send a sound bite to according to an embodiment of theinvention. As depicted the event table 408 is the table used to connectall the data for a specific event. Each day of the event is stored inthe day table 407 (along with the date) which points back to the eventtable 408. Each venue that is used on a specific day of the event iscontained in the venue table 400, which points back to the day table 407and contains the venue data. Each location being used within the venuefor the event is stored in the location table 402, which points back tothe venue table 400 and stores the location data. Each shift within alocation for that day of the event is stored in the location shift table402, which contains the start time and end time for the shift and pointsback to the location table 401 or venue table 400. Every role that is ina specific shift in a location for the day of the event is stored in theshift role table 403. It points back to the specific shift in the shifttable 402 and points to the specific role in the role table 404 whichcontains all of the role data. The shift role member table has aninstance for each member in the shift role, and contains the shift rolethat points back to the shift role table 403. It also points to thespecific person table 406 which contains the person data. The persondata tells the system which app(s) is associated with the person.

If the filter is for everyone in a specific location scheduled now, thenfor the current day and time (which determines which shifts to look at)the group of people (and corresponding applications) is collected. Ifthe filter is for a specific role or set of roles, then for the currentday and time scheduled now (which determines which shifts to look at)each role on the list is matched against each current shift via theshift role table to determine the group of people (and correspondingapplications) to collect. If the filter is for scheduled anytime, thenit just uses the day and all shifts. If it is set for not scheduled now,then it takes the two groups and eliminates the scheduled now ones. Theperson data in the person table also has the status (checked-in/out) ofthe person to further filter the data if necessary.

Referring to FIG. 5A there is depicted an exemplary screenshot presentedto a user for a user to use for filtering who they are talking to on theWKTKAP. Supervisors and managers are system roles, and when selected,the “filter by” can be either disabled or used to further determine whatsupervisors or managers are used. As depicted the user is presented withseveral field blocks 501 to 506 which represent:

-   -   First block 501, wherein the user may either select recipients        or indicate completion;    -   Second block 502, wherein the user selects to communicate with        everyone, supervisors or managers;    -   Third block 503, wherein the user can select a scheduling option        such as anytime, now or not now;    -   Fourth block 504; wherein the user can select the status of        other users, e.g. checked in, checked out or both;    -   Fifth block 505 wherein the user can select other users or not        (the nothing option) but if filtering then, as depicted, by role        or place (location); and    -   Sixth block 506, which adjusts according to selection in fifth        block 505 such that in the instance depicted of role the user is        presented with a list of roles associated with the event, e.g.        cleanup, dismantle, floater, etc.

Within other embodiments of the invention some and/or blocks and optionswithin the blocks may be disabled (not shown or non-functional) independence upon the user's role/status etc. Optionally, theblocks/options may be adjusted dynamically in response to a variationwithin the policy chain associated with the user, a group of users, orall users. For example, within an event security personnel may not beable to select everyone and only communicate with checked-in and “now”scheduled users but all roles. However, in the event of an emergency thepolicy chain may be amended which when pushed to the user's mobiledevice will change these options.

Now referring to FIG. 5B there are depicted first to fourth exemplaryscreenshots 511 to 514 respectively for a WKTKAP according to anembodiment wherein the user initiates a communication session.Accordingly, in first screenshot 511, a default screen for the WKTKAP insome embodiments, the user is a “Manager” as depicted in header withfields relating to staffing, schedule, notifications, schedule problems,and communicating. Selection of “Communicate” triggers second screenshot512 wherein the user is presented with options to start a newconversation, send a broadcast message, or send a message with respectto an existing conversation. If the user selects to start a newconversation then they are presented with third screenshot 513 whichrelates to options for the conversation which are depicted as:

-   -   Conference, which opens a call channel with no history;    -   Walkie-Talkie, which establishes a sound bite feed with history;        and    -   Chat, which is text based feed with history.

Once the user makes a selection they are presented with fourthscreenshot 514 wherein they may select the user(s) to whom theconversation is established based upon application of the one or morefilters such as described and depicted in respect of FIG. 5A. However,as the conversation has not started then the user is able to enter aconversation title, e.g. “Missing Grandmother in Mosh Pit” or “RunningShort of Bandages at Forward Field Hospital.”

Now referring to FIG. 5C there are depicted first to fourth exemplaryscreenshots 521 to 524 respectively for a WKTKAP according to anembodiment wherein the user receives a communication relating to anactive communication session (first screenshot 521) or is invited tojoin a communication session (second screenshot 522). Accordingly, wherethe user receives a communication relating to an active communicationsession (first screenshot 521) they can select the communication withthe messages, in this instance “Conversation Title 1 Custom” with thestatus live and is a conference. Other communication sessions may beongoing or complete etc. From first screenshot 521 the user is presentedwith third screenshot 523 wherein the conversation members are depictedtogether with status information of the communication session, e.g.number of active users, number of inactive users, etc. The user is ablethrough the button options at the bottom of the screen to start a callor join, hold/mute, and leave/hangup the conference they have selected.In the event the conversation was a walkie-talkie or chat then the userwould be presented with other button options as appropriate to thecommunication type. Second screenshot 522 depicts the presentation of aninvitation to a user to join a conversation with an indication of therequester. In third screenshot 523 the user may select a drop-down menuselector wherein the drop-down menu is displayed as indicated in fourthscreenshot 524 wherein the user may add to conversation, remove fromconversation, obtain information or communicate to the conferencecreator, adjust sound settings, and edit conversation filters. Otheroptions may be provided to the user as appropriate according to avariety of factors including, but not limited to, their role, location,venue, event, communication session status, and whether they are thecommunication session creator or not.

Referring to FIG. 5D there are depicted first to fourth exemplaryscreenshots 531 to 534 respectively for a WKTKAP according to anembodiment wherein the user receives a communication relating to anactive communication session (first screenshot 531) or is invited tojoin a communication session (second screenshot 532). Accordingly, wherethe user receives a communication relating to an active communicationsession (first screenshot 521) they can select the communication withthe messages, in this instance “Conversation Title Custom 2” which isindicated as having 11 messages and is a walkie-talkie session. Othercommunication sessions may be ongoing or complete etc. From firstscreenshot 521 the user is presented with third screenshot 523 whereinthe conversation members are depicted together with status informationof the communication session, e.g. number of active users, number ofinactive users, etc. Associated with each user are the sound bites theyhave provided. As depicted the user can scroll down through the usersand sound bites which have associated context data such as location,place, venue, time, sound bite duration etc. As the communicationsession/type is walkie-talkie the option presented at the bottom of thescreenshot is a “push-to-talk” icon. Second screenshot 532 depicts thepresentation of an invitation to a user to join a conversation with anindication of the requester. In third screenshot 523 the user may selecta drop-down menu selector wherein the drop-down menu is displayed asindicated in fourth screenshot 524 wherein the user may add toconversation, remove from conversation, obtain information orcommunicate to the conference creator, adjust sound settings, and editconversation filters. Other options may be provided to the user asappropriate according to a variety of factors including, but not limitedto, their role, location, venue, event, communication session status,and whether they are the communication session creator or not.

Optionally, the user may be presented with the third screenshot 533 indifferent formats, e.g. in time order, grouped by location/venue,grouped by role, duration etc. rather than by user. The optionsavailable may be determined based upon a variety of factors including,but not limited to, their role, location, venue, event, communicationsession status, and whether they are the communication session creatoror not. A user may be provided with all messages relating to their shiftor only those relating to their role within a shift etc. The user mayopt to have the sound bites played to the loudspeaker of their PED or toa headset/headphones or in other instances a speech-to-text conversionmay be applied, for example.

Referring to FIG. 5E there are depicted first to fourth exemplaryscreenshots 541 to 544 respectively for a WKTKAP according to anembodiment wherein the user receives a communication relating to anactive communication session (first screenshot 541) or is invited tojoin a communication session (second screenshot 542). In this instancethe communication type is a call wherein the user is presented withthird screen shot 543. In third screenshot 543 the user may select adrop-down menu selector wherein the drop-down menu is displayed asindicated in fourth screenshot 544 which is similar to fourthscreenshots 524 and 534 in FIGS. 5C and 5D respectively.

As the communication type is call then third screenshot 543 depicts textbased communications. The user is presented with conversation memberstogether with status information of the communication session, e.g.number of active users, number of inactive users, etc. Associated witheach user are their text messages they have provided. As depicted theuser can scroll down through the users and text messages which haveassociated context data such as location, place, venue, time etc. As thecommunication session/type is call the option presented at the bottom ofthe screenshot is for the user to create a text message and send.Optionally, the user may be presented with the third screenshot 533 indifferent formats, e.g. in time order, grouped by location/venue,grouped by role, duration etc. rather than by user. The optionsavailable may be determined based upon a variety of factors including,but not limited to, their role, location, venue, event, communicationsession status, and whether they are the communication session creatoror not. A user may be provided with all messages relating to their shiftor only those relating to their role within a shift etc. The user mayopt to have the text messages presented audibly to the loudspeaker oftheir PED or to a headset/headphones via a speech-to-text conversion.

The transfer of the communication content, e.g. a sound bite, can bedone via a telephony network as well as a data network. The WKTK servicecould be provided by an open meet-me type conference set up between allthe parties involved. In that case, the conference would stay live untileither the creator/instigator shuts it down, or the last member leaves.The determination of the parties involved would be the same, thedifference would be that a third party service (for example the serviceprovided by Twillio) could be used to set up a conference and allparties called and added on answer.

Within the screenshots presented in FIGS. 5A to 5E the channels of aprior art walkie-talkie are now replaced by the differentcommunications. Accordingly, the user may be active on several“channels” simultaneously receiving and transmitting information whereinthe “channel” is established by the policy chain(s) associated with theuser. Accordingly, whilst the user is transmitting or receiving they arenot blocked from receiving other content relating to other “channels.”

Now referring to FIG. 6 there is depicted a network environment 600within which embodiments of the invention may be employed supporting“push to talk” or “walkie-talkie” applications/platforms (WKTKAPs)according to embodiments of the invention. Such WKWTAPs, for examplesupporting multiple device types, multiple communication channels, fixedcontent, dynamic content, etc. As shown first and second user groups600A and 600B respectively interface to a telecommunications network600. Within the representative telecommunication architecture a remotecentral exchange 680 communicates with the remainder of atelecommunication service providers network via the network 600 whichmay include for example long-haul OC-48/OC-192 backbone elements, anOC-48 wide area network (WAN), a Passive Optical Network, and a WirelessLink. The central exchange 680 is connected via the network 600 tolocal, regional, and international exchanges (not shown for clarity) andtherein through network 600 to first and second cellular APs 695A and695B respectively which provide Wi-Fi cells for first and second usergroups 600A and 600B respectively. Also connected to the network 600 arefirst and second Wi-Fi nodes 610A and 610B, the latter of which beingcoupled to network 600 via router 605. Second Wi-Fi node 610B isassociated with Enterprise 660, e.g. Toronto Waterfront Marathon™,within which other first and second user groups 600A and 600B exist.Second user group 600B may also be connected to the network 600 viawired interfaces including, but not limited to, DSL, Dial-Up, DOCSIS,Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power line communication (PLC)which may or may not be routed through a router such as router 605.

Within the cell associated with first AP 610A the first group of users600A may employ a variety of PEDs including for example, laptop computer655, portable gaming console 635, tablet computer 640, smartphone 650,cellular telephone 645 as well as portable multimedia player 630. Withinthe cell associated with second AP 610B are the second group of users600B which may employ a variety of FEDs including for example gamingconsole 625, personal computer 615 and wireless/Internet enabledtelevision 620 as well as cable modem 605. First and second cellular APs695A and 695B respectively provide, for example, cellular GSM (GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications) telephony services as well as 3G and4G evolved services with enhanced data transport support. Secondcellular AP 695B provides coverage in the exemplary embodiment to firstand second user groups 600A and 600B. Alternatively the first and seconduser groups 600A and 600B may be geographically disparate and access thenetwork 600 through multiple APs, not shown for clarity, distributedgeographically by the network operator or operators. First cellular AP695A as show provides coverage to first user group 600A and environment670, which comprises second user group 600B as well as first user group600A. Accordingly, the first and second user groups 600A and 600B mayaccording to their particular communications interfaces communicate tothe network 600 through one or more wireless communications standardssuch as, for example, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16, IEEE802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138,ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, and IMT-1000. It would be evident to oneskilled in the art that many portable and fixed electronic devices maysupport multiple wireless protocols simultaneously, such that forexample a user may employ GSM services such as telephony and SMS andWi-Fi/WiMAX data transmission, VOIP and Internet access. Accordinglyportable electronic devices within first user group 600A may formassociations either through standards such as IEEE 802.15 and Bluetoothas well in an ad-hoc manner.

Also connected to the network 600 are Social Networks (SOCNETS) 665,first and second personnel providers 670A and 670B respectively, e.g.Manpower™ and Adecco™ catering service provider 670C, e.g. Daniel &Daniel (Toronto, Canada), and first to second partner enterprises 675Aand 675B respectively, e.g. Scotiabank™ and Running Room™, as well asfirst and second servers 690A and 690B which together with others, notshown for clarity. First and second servers 690A and 690B may hostaccording to embodiments of the inventions multiple services associatedwith a provider of WKWTAPs; a provider of a SOCNET or Social Media(SOME) exploiting WKWTAP features; a provider of a SOCNET and/or SOMEnot exploiting WKWTAP features; a provider of services to PEDS and/orFEDS; a provider of one or more aspects of wired and/or wirelesscommunications; an Enterprise 660 exploiting WKWTAP features; licensedatabases; content databases; event databases; registration databases;customer databases; contact databases; websites; and softwareapplications for download to or access by FEDs and/or PEDs exploitingand/or hosting WKWTAP features. First and second primary content servers690A and 690B may also host for example other Internet services such asa search engine, financial services, third party applications and otherInternet based services.

Accordingly, an enterprise user or individual user (ENUINU) may exploita PED and/or FED within an Enterprise 660, for example, and access oneof the first or second primary content servers 690A and 690Brespectively to perform an operation such as accessing/downloading anapplication which provides WKWTAP features according to embodiments ofthe invention; execute an application already installed providing WKWTAPfeatures; execute a web based application providing WKWTAP features; orexploit WKWTAP features within another application. Similarly, an ENUINUmay undertake such actions or others exploiting embodiments of theinvention exploiting a PED or FED within first and second user groups600A and 600B respectively via one of first and second cellular APs 695Aand 695B respectively and first Wi-Fi nodes 610A.

Now referring to FIG. 7 there is depicted an electronic device 704 andnetwork access point 707 supporting WKWTAP features according toembodiments of the invention. Electronic device 704 may, for example, bea PED and/or FED and may include additional elements above and beyondthose described and depicted. Also depicted within the electronic device704 is the protocol architecture as part of a simplified functionaldiagram of a system 700 that includes an electronic device 704, such asa smartphone 655, an access point (AP) 706, such as first AP 610, andone or more network devices 707, such as communication servers,streaming media servers, and routers for example such as first andsecond servers 690A and 690B respectively. Network devices 707 may becoupled to AP 706 via any combination of networks, wired, wirelessand/or optical communication links such as discussed above in respect ofFIG. 6 as well as directly as indicated. Network devices 707 are coupledto network 600 and therein Social Networks (SOCNETS) 665, first andsecond personnel providers 670A and 670B respectively, e.g. Manpower™and Adecco™, catering service provider 670C, e.g. Daniel & Daniel(Toronto, Canada), and first to second partner enterprises 675A and 675Brespectively, e.g. Scotiabank™ and Running Room™.

The electronic device 704 includes one or more processors 710 and amemory 712 coupled to processor(s) 710. AP 706 also includes one or moreprocessors 711 and a memory 713 coupled to processor(s) 710. Anon-exhaustive list of examples for any of processors 710 and 711includes a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), a complex instructionset computer (CISC) and the like. Furthermore, any of processors 710 and711 may be part of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) ormay be a part of application specific standard products (ASSPs). Anon-exhaustive list of examples for memories 712 and 713 includes anycombination of the following semiconductor devices such as registers,latches, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory devices, non-volatile random accessmemory devices (NVRAM), SDRAM, DRAM, double data rate (DDR) memorydevices, SRAM, universal serial bus (USB) removable memory, and thelike.

Electronic device 704 may include an audio input element 714, forexample a microphone, and an audio output element 716, for example, aspeaker, coupled to any of processors 710. Electronic device 704 mayinclude a video input element 718, for example, a video camera orcamera, and a video output element 720, for example an LCD display,coupled to any of processors 710. Electronic device 704 also includes akeyboard 715 and touchpad 717 which may for example be a physicalkeyboard and touchpad allowing the user to enter content or selectfunctions within one of more applications 722. Alternatively thekeyboard 715 and touchpad 717 may be predetermined regions of a touchsensitive element forming part of the display within the electronicdevice 704. The one or more applications 722 that are typically storedin memory 712 and are executable by any combination of processors 710.Electronic device 704 also includes accelerometer 760 providingthree-dimensional motion input to the process 710 and GPS 762 whichprovides geographical location information to processor 710.

Electronic device 704 includes a protocol stack 724 and AP 706 includesa communication stack 725. Within system 700 protocol stack 724 is shownas IEEE 802.11 protocol stack but alternatively may exploit otherprotocol stacks such as an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)multimedia protocol stack for example. Likewise AP stack 725 exploits aprotocol stack but is not expanded for clarity. Elements of protocolstack 724 and AP stack 725 may be implemented in any combination ofsoftware, firmware and/or hardware. Protocol stack 724 includes an IEEE802.11-compatible PHY module 726 that is coupled to one or moreFront-End Tx/Rx & Antenna 728, an IEEE 802.11-compatible MAC module 730coupled to an IEEE 802.2-compatible LLC module 732. Protocol stack 724includes a network layer IP module 734, a transport layer User DatagramProtocol (UDP) module 736 and a transport layer Transmission ControlProtocol (TCP) module 738.

Protocol stack 724 also includes a session layer Real Time TransportProtocol (RTP) module 740, a Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) module742, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module 744 and a Real TimeStreaming Protocol (RTSP) module 746. Protocol stack 724 includes apresentation layer media negotiation module 748, a call control module750, one or more audio codecs 752 and one or more video codecs 754.Applications 722 may be able to create maintain and/or terminatecommunication sessions with any of devices 707 by way of AP 706.Typically, applications 722 may activate any of the SAP, SIP, RTSP,media negotiation and call control modules for that purpose. Typically,information may propagate from the SAP, SIP, RTSP, media negotiation andcall control modules to PHY module 726 through TCP module 738, IP module734, LLC module 732 and MAC module 730.

It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that elements of theelectronic device 704 may also be implemented within the AP 706including but not limited to one or more elements of the protocol stack724, including for example an IEEE 802.11-compatible PHY module, an IEEE802.11-compatible MAC module, and an IEEE 802.2-compatible LLC module732. The AP 706 may additionally include a network layer IP module, atransport layer User Datagram Protocol (UDP) module and a transportlayer Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) module as well as a sessionlayer Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) module, a Session AnnouncementProtocol (SAP) module, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module and aReal Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) module, media negotiation module,and a call control module. Portable and fixed electronic devicesrepresented by electronic device 704 may include one or more additionalwireless or wired interfaces in addition to the depicted IEEE 802.11interface which may be selected from the group comprising IEEE 802.15,IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900,GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, IMT-1000, DSL, Dial-Up,DOCSIS, Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power line communication(PLC).

Whilst the above description and examples have been primarily presentedwith respect to communications for personnel within events such assports events, festivals, etc. it would be evident to one of skill inthe art that the concepts may be applied to a variety of otherenvironments including, for example, workplace communications, sportsteam communications, etc.

Whilst the above description and examples have been primarily presentedwith respect to users employing their own PEDs rather than beingprovided walkie-talkies it would be evident to one of skill in the artthat the embodiments of the invention in respect of WKTKAPs may alsosupport walkie-talkies as part of the devices. For example, a user witha walkie-talkie may select a channel and push-to-talk wherein theirmessage is both broadcast to all users on that channel on otherwalkie-talkies but also communicated to other users via the network 107not exploiting walkie-talkies wherein the event management serverreceives, for example, a sound bite from a user's walkie-talkie with anassociated channel identified and device identifier. Based upon thesethe event management server associates the sound bite to a conversationand pushes it to the users within the appropriate roles/location etc.Where the communication type is a conference call or walkie-talkie thesound bite is transmitted as an audio file but where the communicationtype is chat then the event management server may convert the audiocontent to text.

Where multiple “channels” are associated with an event forcommunications the event management server may automatically performconflict resolution.

It would be evident that communications within a channel orcommunication session or a shift or event etc. may be encrypted andthat, for example, security personnel at an event may exploit encryptionwhilst other communications are open. Optionally, different geofencedregions may be associated with different encryption keys so thatcommunications within security personnel are defined further by ageolocation/geofencing.

It would be evident that a conference call configured according to anembodiment of the invention is established absent any continuously openchannel between the users/members of the conference call. Users onlytransmit when they have content and users only receive content whenthere is some to receive. As such the conference call be ongoing for anextended period of time with intermittent content broadcast.

Geolocation/geofencing may exploit a system within the user's PED suchas GPS, for example, or it may alternatively exploit one or more othertechniques as known within the art such as transmitter identity,transmitter triangulation, received signal strengths from transmitters,localized beacons, etc. A venue may be a “zoned” into a number ofmicro-venues defined by one or more geolocation/geofencing aspects.

The WKTKAPs as described and depicted have been primarily presented fromthe user's viewpoint as a software application in execution upon theirPED, for example. However, in other embodiments of the invention theWKTKAP may be accessed and/or configured through web pages or webbrowsers. Such web pages may be accessed on the user's PED or they mayalternatively be accessed upon a FED. Accordingly, for example, ticketoffice personnel may have a browser window open providing them withWKTKAP content whilst their screen also provides the ticket salesmanagement application.

Optionally, a communication such as a sound bite and/or text may includean attachment or attachments such as a data file, a content file, animage, a video, or an audio recording.

Specific details are given in the above description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it is understoodthat the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not toobscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances,well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniquesmay be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring theembodiments.

Implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps and means describedabove may be done in various ways. For example, these techniques,blocks, steps and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing unitsmay be implemented within one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signalprocessing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described above and/or a combination thereof.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process is terminated when itsoperations are completed, but could have additional steps not includedin the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, aprocedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the functionto the calling function or the main function.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription languages and/or any combination thereof. When implementedin software, firmware, middleware, scripting language and/or microcode,the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may bestored in a machine readable medium, such as a storage medium. A codesegment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions,data structures and/or program statements. A code segment may be coupledto another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/orreceiving information, data, arguments, parameters and/or memorycontent. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable mediumtangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing themethodologies described herein. For example, software codes may bestored in a memory. Memory may be implemented within the processor orexternal to the processor and may vary in implementation where thememory is employed in storing software codes for subsequent execution tothat when the memory is employed in executing the software codes. Asused herein the term “memory” refers to any type of long term, shortterm, volatile, nonvolatile, or other storage medium and is not to belimited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or typeof media upon which memory is stored.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable orfixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and/orvarious other mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data.

The methodologies described herein are, in one or more embodiments,performable by a machine which includes one or more processors thataccept code segments containing instructions. For any of the methodsdescribed herein, when the instructions are executed by the machine, themachine performs the method. Any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine are included. Thus, a typical machine may be exemplifiedby a typical processing system that includes one or more processors.Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics-processingunit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further mayinclude a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM,and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating betweenthe components. If the processing system requires a display, such adisplay may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD). If manualdata entry is required, the processing system also includes an inputdevice such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as akeyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth.

The memory includes machine-readable code segments (e.g. software orsoftware code) including instructions for performing, when executed bythe processing system, one of more of the methods described herein. Thesoftware may reside entirely in the memory, or may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within theprocessor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, thememory and the processor also constitute a system comprisingmachine-readable code.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected, e.g., networked to other machines, in a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. Themachine may be, for example, a computer, a server, a cluster of servers,a cluster of computers, a web appliance, a distributed computingenvironment, a cloud computing environment, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. The term “machine” may also betaken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointlyexecute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one ormore of the methodologies discussed herein.

The foregoing disclosure of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations andmodifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. Thescope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appendedhereto, and by their equivalents.

Further, in describing representative embodiments of the presentinvention, the specification may have presented the method and/orprocess of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps.However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on theparticular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process shouldnot be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps maybe possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth inthe specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims.In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of thepresent invention should not be limited to the performance of theirsteps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readilyappreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within thespirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing communications mobilecommunications comprising: receiving content within an event applicationin execution upon an electronic device associated with a user andconnected to a network from another electronic device also connected tothe network executing the event application and associated with anotheruser; associating the received content with a communication based upon afilter defined by a policy chain established within the eventapplication in dependence upon a role associated with the user within anevent; and presenting the information upon the electronic device;wherein the another user is also associated with the event and a secondrole within the event; and the user and the another user have noassociation other than that they are both members of a group of usersassociated with the event whose contact data is stored within a databaseaccessible by a user notification server connected to the networkthrough which the communication from the another user to the user isrouted.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the database storesdata relating to roles for registered users of the event application,specific times for which a registered user is associated with a specificrole, and an event for which the user will perform the specific role atthe specific times.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein theevent application supports emulation of a walkie-talkie by an electronicdevice and provide communications that mimic use of walkie-talkies byparticipants; and a channel of a plurality of channels upon which amessage is at least one of received and transmitted is established independence upon a policy chain including the role the user is currentlyassociated with.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the policychain is dynamically established in dependence upon at least one of therole, a location, a venue, a shift, a shift status, and the event forwhich the user is registered.
 5. The method according to claim 1,wherein the filter is dynamically established in dependence upon atleast one of the role, a location, a venue, a shift, a shift status, andthe event for which the user is registered.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the electronic device upon which the content isprovided is either a walkie-talkie or an electronic device comprising adisplay and at least one of an audio input interface, an audio outputinterface, and a keyboard.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe electronic device upon which the content is an electronic device andthe content is provided to the user via the event application as a webpage of a plurality of web pages.
 8. Computer readable instructions forexecution by a microprocessor stored in a non-volatile, non-transitorymemory, the instructions when executed relating to a process comprising:receiving content within an event application in execution upon anelectronic device associated with a user and connected to a network fromanother electronic device also connected to the network executing theevent application and associated with another user; associating thereceived content with a communication based upon a filter defined by apolicy chain established within the event application in dependence upona role associated with the user within an event; and presenting theinformation upon the electronic device; wherein the another user is alsoassociated with the event and a second role within the event; and theuser and the another user have no association other than that they areboth members of a group of users associated with the event whose contactdata is stored within a database accessible by a user notificationserver connected to the network through which the communication from theanother user to the user is routed.
 9. The instructions according toclaim 8, wherein the database stores data relating to roles forregistered users of the event application, specific times for which aregistered user is associated with a specific role, and an event forwhich the user will perform the specific role at the specific times. 10.The instructions according to claim 8, wherein the event applicationsupports emulation of a walkie-talkie by an electronic device andprovide communications that mimic use of walkie-talkies by participants;and a channel of a plurality of channels upon which a message is atleast one of received and transmitted is established in dependence upona policy chain including the role the user is currently associated with.11. The instructions according to claim 8, wherein the policy chain isdynamically established in dependence upon at least one of the role, alocation, a venue, a shift, a shift status, and the event for which theuser is registered.
 12. The instructions according to claim 8, whereinthe filter is dynamically established in dependence upon at least one ofthe role, a location, a venue, a shift, a shift status, and the eventfor which the user is registered.
 13. The instructions according toclaim 8, wherein the electronic device upon which the content isprovided is either a walkie-talkie or an electronic device comprising adisplay and at least one of an audio input interface, an audio outputinterface, and a keyboard.
 14. The instructions according to claim 8,wherein the electronic device upon which the content is an electronicdevice and the content is provided to the user via the event applicationas a web page of a plurality of web pages.